METO -- Meteorology

METO 400 The Atmosphere (3) Prerequisites: CHEM 103; and MATH 241; and MATH 246; and PHYS 263. The atmosphere and its weather and climate systems. Composition of the atmosphere, energy sources and sinks, winds, storms, global circulation. The application of basic classical physics, chemistry, and mathematics to the study of the atmosphere.

METO 401 Global Environment (3) Prerequisite: METO 400. The global weather and climate system; the natural variability of the atmosphere-ocean-biosphere. Potential human effects: greenhouse effects, deforestation, acid rain, ozone depletion, nuclear winter. Social, political and economic effects of changes in global environment. Policy options.

METO 434 Air Pollution (3) Prerequisites: {CHEM 113 and MATH 241} or permission of department. Production, transformation, transport and removal of air pollutants. The problems of photochemical smog, the greenhouse effect, stratospheric ozone, acid rain, and visibility. Analytical techniques for gases and particles.

METO 499 Special Problems in Atmospheric Science (1-3) Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 6 credits. Research or special study in the field of meteorology and the atmospheric and oceanic sciences.

METO 501 Atmospheric Observations from Space (2) 15 hours of lecture and 15 hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: current status as middle or high school math or science teacher. Students (active middle and high school teachers) explore methods for directly capturing and analyzing images from weather satellites as a means to enhance science curriculum. The course will include both a background lecture series in atmospheric physics and laboratory experiences. Participation in setting-up stations will prepare them to establish classroom ground stations. Students will design lessons appropriate to their individual educational setting.

METO 600 Synoptic Meteorology I (3) Pre- or corequisites: METO 610; and METO 620. Observational approach to the atmosphere, the nature of storms, and the techniques of forecasting, including the use of numerical guidance.

METO 601 Synoptic Meteorology II (3) Prerequisite: METO 600. Weather forecasting using numerical and statistical models. Prediction on the global, synoptic, meso, and local scales.

METO 610 Dynamic Meteorology I (3) Pre- or corequisite: MATH 462. The equations of atmospheric motion and their elementary applications; circulation and vorticity; planetary boundary layer; diagnostic analysis with the quasi-geostrophic equations; atmospheric oscillations; baroclinic instability and dynamics of mid-latitude systems; the atmospheric energy cycle; the general circulation of troposphere and stratosphere.

METO 611 Dynamic Meteorology II (3) Prerequisite: METO 610. Atmospheric oscillations: wave motion and stability analysis; geostrophic adjustment; energy propagation. Planetary fluid dynamics: dynamics of Hadley and Walker circulations; barotropic and baroclinic instability; dynamics of the tropical atmosphere; stationary waves; multiple equilibria.

METO 614 Computational Methods for Atmospheric and Oceanic Modeling (3) Prerequisite: METO 611. Numerical techniques for the solution of partial differential equations; application to the equations of atmospheric motion; Eulerian, Lagrangian and spectral methods; numerical models of the general circulation; current applications to research and forecasting.

METO 617 General Circulation of the Atmosphere (3) Prerequisite: METO 610. Equations for mean axially symmetric and asymmetric fields of atmospheric motion; observed circulations; budget of heat, momentum and water vapor; energetics; simplified solutions of mean axially symmetric and asymmetric fields of motion; numerical simulation of general circulation.

METO 620 Physical Meteorology I (3) Prerequisite: MATH 461. Atmospheric thermodynamics. The microphysics of cloud formation and precipitation.

METO 621 Physical Meteorology II - Atmospheric Radiation (3) Prerequisites: MATH 462; and METO 620. Concepts and definitions of radiant energy; radiation absorption and scattering the atmosphere; techniques for calculating the transfer of solar and terrestrial radiation in the atmosphere, the planetary radiation budget.

METO 625 Remote Inference of Atmospheric Properties by Satellite (3) Prerequisites: METO 621; and MATH 461. Weather satellite programs and instrumentation. Radiative transfer applied to satellite observations. Physical basis of remote inference. Temperature and moisture soundings. Errors in satellite retrievals. Applications to numerical weather simulation and prediction.

METO 630 Statistical Methods in Meteorology (3) Prerequisite: STAT 400 or equivalent. Tests of significance; time series analysis; analysis of variance; multiple regression and screening multiple regression; representation of meteorological field variables by orthogonal polynomials and empirical orthogonal polynomials.

METO 634 Air Sampling and Analysis (3) One hour of lecture and four hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: METO 434 or METO 637 or permission of department. Theory and application of analytical techniques for the analysis of atmospheric gases and particles including priority pollutants. Combined chemical and meteorological considerations in designing field experiments.

METO 637 Atmospheric Chemistry (3) Prerequisites: CHEM 481 or METO 620. Also offered as CHEM 637. Application of the techniques of thermodynamics, kinetics, spectroscopy and photochemistry to atmospheric gases and particles. Investigation of the global cycles of C, H, O, N, and S species; the use of laboratory and field measurements in computer models of the atmosphere.

METO 640 Surface-Atmosphere Interactions (3) Prerequisites: (MATH 461; and METO 621) or permission of instructor. Microscale surface/atmosphere interactions and their parameterization, current observational results, computational techniques for momentum, heat and water vapor transfer in the surface boundary layer.

METO 658 Special Topics in Meteorology (1-3) Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Various special topics in meteorology are given intensive study. The topic of concentration varies, from semester to semester and depends on student and faculty interests. Often, specialists from other institutions are invited to the campus on a visiting lectureship basis to conduct the course.

METO 670 General Circulation of the Ocean (3) Prerequisite: METO 610 or equivalent. Statistics and dynamics of oceanic circulation on interannual to decadal time-scales. Water masses. Sources of deep water. Simple models of the ventilation of the deep ocean. Linear and nonlinear theories of the circulation of the midlatitude gyres. Theories of the maintenance of the pycnocline; the freshwater cycle; the energy cycle; ocean chemistry and the carbon cycle.

METO 671 Air-Sea Interaction (3) Prerequisite: MATH 462. Corequisite: METO 610. Observations and theories of the seasonal changes in the ocean circulation and temperature, and interactions with the atmosphere. Equations of motion and theories of wind-driven circulation. Mixed layer observations and theories. Midlatitude and equatorial waves. Seasonal budgets of momentum, fresh water, and heat. El Nino/Southern Oscillation. Interannual variability and atmosphere-ocean coupling.

METO 798 Directed Graduate Research (1-3) For METO majors only.

METO 899 Doctoral Dissertation Research (1-8)